CONNECT 2020
A GLOBAL FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION IN THE ICT SECTOR
ROUNDTABLE 2 - PANELISTS
Achieving full digital inclusion: feasible by 2020?
Thursday, 30 October - 13h to 14h ROOM D
Moderator: Mr Paul Conneally, Head of Communications, ITU
Featured panelists
Dr Hamadoun Touré,
Secretary General, ITU
H.E. Ms Rebecca
Okwaci, Minister of
Telecom & Postal
Services, Republic of
South Sudan
Ms Mindel De La
Torre, Chief of the
International Bureau,
FCC
Ms Kathy Brown,
President and CEO,
Internet Society
Mr Miguel Raimilla,
Executive
Director,Telecentre.org
Foundation
Profile of the panelists
Name
Profile
Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, Secretary-General of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) since January 2007, was re-elected for a second
four-year term in October 2010.
As Secretary-General, Dr Touré is committed to ITU’s mission of connecting the
world, and to helping achieve the Millennium Development Goals through
harnessing the unique potential of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs).
Dr Hamadoun Touré,
Secretary General, ITU
A long-standing champion of ICTs as a driver of social and economic
development, Dr Touré previously served as Director of ITU’s
Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) from 1998-2006. In this role he
placed considerable emphasis on implementing the outcomes of the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), launching projects based on
partnerships with international organizations, governments, the private sector
and civil society.
Dr Touré started his professional career in his native Mali in 1979. He built a
solid career in the satellite industry, serving as managing engineer in Mali’s first
International Earth Station. He joined Intelsat’s Assistance and Development
Programme in 1985. He was appointed Intelsat’s Group Director for Africa and
the Middle East in 1994, earning a reputation as an energetic leader through his
commitment to various regional connectivity projects such as RASCOM. In 1996
he joined ICO Global Communications as African Regional General Manager,
spearheading the companies’ activities across the African region.
A national of Mali, Dr Touré holds a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering
from the Technical Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications of
Leningrad, and a PhD from the University of Electronics, Telecommunications
and Informatics of Moscow. He is married with four children and two
grandchildren, and is proficient in four official ITU languages: English, French,
Russian and Spanish.
Minister Rebecca Joshua Okwaci is currently the Minister of
Telecommunications and Postal Services in the government of the Republic of
South Sudan. She presented the Republic of South Sudan’s first ever policy
statement, as well as voting for the first time at an ITU Plenipotentiary
Conference in Busan.
H.E. Ms Rebecca
Okwaci, Minister of
Telecom & Postal
Services, Republic of
South Sudan
Rebecca Joshua Okwaci is a journalist by profession and the secretary general
of Women Action for Development (WAD) in South Sudan. As a peace advocate,
Okwaci co-led the Sudanese delegation to the U.N. Fourth World Conference
on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995 and facilitated dialogue between
women from the south and north. Her progressive work to bring the groups
together was recognized by international institutions and governments and
culminated in the founding of Sudanese Women’s Empowerment for Peace
(SuWEP), an organization included in the list of 1,000 women nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize. She is also a founding member of the Sudanese Women’s
Association in Nairobi and Sudanese Women’s Voice for Peace (SWVP), the first
grassroots peace organization established by Sudanese women living in exile in
Kenya, and she co-led the Sudanese women’s delegation to The Hague Appeal
for Peace in 1999.Minister Okwaci has worked extensively in women’s advocacy
and development. She is a founding member of Sudanese Women Association
in Nairobi, Sudanese Women Voice for Peace, and Sudanese Women
Empowerment for Peace, as well as Secretary-General of Women Action for
Development (WAD); all are women’s initiatives for advocacy, peace, and
development.
Ms. Okwaci is a Master’s student of Communication Development at Daystar
University in Kenya and a graduate of Alexandria University in Egypt with a
Committed to connecting the world.
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degree in English language, Literature, and Translation. She’s a mother,
sportswoman, poet, and hymn singer.
Since October 2009, Mindel De La Torre has been Chief of the International
Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In that role, she
leads the FCC’s efforts internationally – both on a bilateral and multilateral
basis. She oversees the International Bureau’s functions with regard to licensing
of international and domestic satellites, international long distance,
international broadcast stations, and submarine cables. Ms. De La Torre was
previously at the FCC between 1994-1998 as Deputy Chief of the
Telecommunications Division of the International Bureau.
Ms Mindel De La Torre,
Chief of the
International Bureau,
FCC
Before returning to the FCC, she was president of the Telecommunications
Management Group, Inc. (TMG), a consulting firm in the Washington DC area.
Her work at TMG included advising businesses, international organizations, and
regulators on issues relevant to liberalization and commercialization of the
telecommunications sector. Ms. De La Torre managed a variety of teams
responsible for telecommunications projects, including advising
telecommunications agencies in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East
regarding key restructuring and regulatory issues, redrafting and updating
telecommunications laws and involvement in third generation mobile issues.
She has been a member of various U.S. delegations to ITU conferences, such as
World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC), World Telecommunication
Development Conferences, and Plenipotentiary Conferences. She has also
participated actively in regional telecommunications organizations, such as
CITEL and APEC.
Ms. De La Torre also worked at the Department of Commerce – for over four
years at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and
for three years in the General Counsel’s office.
Ms. De La Torre has a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and a J.D. from the
University of Texas. She is a member of the Texas bar and the Federal
Communications Bar Association. Having lived overseas most of her life, she
speaks fluent Portuguese, French, and Spanish and is proficient in Italian.
Kathryn C. Brown joined the Internet Society as President and Chief Executive
Officer on January 1, 2014. She is a veteran of Internet policy development and
corporate responsibility initiatives that have aided in the Internet’s global
expansion. At Verizon, she helped identify and navigate emerging digital issues
and led its global corporate responsibility initiatives. In her policy role, she led
the company's international public policy engagement through a period of
dynamic change. She represented the company in the successful adoption by
the OECD of principles for Internet policy making and was a member of the U.S.
delegation to the ITU World Conference on International Telecommunications
treaty negotiations.
Ms Kathy Brown,
President and CEO,
Internet Society
As leader of Verizon's corporate responsibility initiatives, she served on
Verizon's corporate councils for the development of the company's online
privacy and content policies and promoted Verizon's Human Rights Statement
and Supplier Code of Conduct. Additionally, she oversaw an investment of more
than $60 million a year in programs and grants from the Verizon Foundation
that helped support Internet development. In 2010 she partnered with the
Internet Society to launch a highly successful forum on the Internet and higher
education in East Africa. Kathy joined Verizon from Washington D.C. law firm
Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, where she was a partner specializing in legal and
regulatory communications policy.
Earlier in her career, Kathy served in U.S. President Clinton’s Administration
where she was deeply involved in policy development that was instrumental to
the deployment and adoption of the global Internet. She served as Head of the
Office of Policy and Development at the National Telecommunications
Information Administration and then as Chief of Staff to Federal
Communications Commission Chairman William E. Kennard. At the FCC, she
Committed to connecting the world.
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managed the staff supporting Chairman Kennard's historic decision to keep the
Internet unregulated, to fund the E-rate, and to increase radio spectrum
availability to fuel wireless technology innovation. Before moving to
Washington D.C., Kathy held senior roles for 15 years in government service in
New York.
Most recently, Kathy was a senior advisor at global strategy firm Albright
Stonebridge Group. Kathy received her J.D., summa cum laude, from Syracuse
University College of Law and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Marist College.
She spent one year studying at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and in
Leeds, UK. Kathy has served on the advisory boards of the Public Interest
Registry (.ORG), the mPowering Development Advisory Board of the ITU, and
the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab.
Mr Miguel Raimilla,
Executive
Director,Telecentre.org
Foundation
Miguel Raimilla is a social entrepreneur, and founder of several international
and multicultural initiatives linked with youth, social development, and social
enterprise throughout Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Among these initiatives are World Corps, OneRoof, and his most recent
endeavor, Channel International – all of which encompasses different local
expressions of ICT4D worldwide. He brings to Telecentre.org Foundation more
than 17 years of international experience developing non-profit organizations
and private companies in the field of ICT4D and telecentres. He has promoted
the concept of telecentres in places (and with people and organizations) where
it had never been heard of before. Creating, running, and managing telecentre
units in several countries, Miguel has established a unique perspective of the
realities, challenges, and opportunities that telecentres experience on a daily
basis. During these years, Miguel has developed local teams, and training
content and methodologies, while collaborating with non-profit and
governmental programs in many countries.
Committed to connecting the world.
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